Three years of Meloni: Assessing the track record of Italy’s far-right leader

Three years after her arrival at the Palazzo Chigi, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni still enjoys high approval ratings. The strict budget policies of her government have paid off: credit rating agencies have upgraded Italy’s sovereign debt rating. However, businesses in the country face a labour shortage. Meloni’s government plans to issue 500,000 visas to non-European workers by 2028, an unexpected position for a hard-right leader who promised to close the borders. On the political front, Meloni has surprised her adversaires with her pragmatism. Despite campaigning as a diehard Eurosceptic, she has shifted to being an active partner in Brussels. Our Rome correspondents report.